It's The Thought That Counts
by Queen of Silence
Summary: Regina and Emma are celebrating Christmas together as a family for the first time. The couple decided that instead of buying gifs for one another, they'd made them on their own. Using Magic is not allowed, Regina made sure to remind Emma.


This is my first time writing Swan Queen. I was always nervous about it, feeling that it might be beyond my abilities since there are such amazing writers in our little family. I decided to give it a chance because I lost my motivation to write and I desperately want it back.

English isn't my first language, sorry for all the mistakes. I hope you'll enjoy!

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Work Text:Storybrooke was an actual quiet place for the first time. No bad guys, curses or unexpected travels to other worlds occurred in almost a year and the people were starting to get used to it. Another thing the people of the secret town needed to wrap their heads around was their mayor, once the evil queen and now savior, and sheriff, the one who born with the title, were dating. It was shocking to most people; not because they couldn't believe it happened, but because they never thought the stubborn women would actually acknowledge their feelings for one another and speak up. But then again, their son was an expert when it came to operations and Snow and David, the biggest advocates for finding your happiness, were one of the pair's parents. Together, grandson and his grandparents worked on a subtly getting the women to figure out that beneath the good friendship the two women built, laid something deeper. They made them realize that despite how hurt and disappointed they got in the past, pursuing whatever was between them worth giving a real chance. And that was definitely the right choice, even though Regina was still reluctant about thanking the Charming and preferred expressing her disapproval of Henry's involvement. Nonetheless, the relationship blossomed and Emma and Regina were the happiest they've been in a very long time.

When the holidays arrived, Emma and Henry participated in Regina's little game of 'No way I'm spending Thanksgiving with the Charmings'. It was an act so Regina won't look soft as she really was. The redeemed queen and her former nemesis have a healthy and functional relationship, and yet Regina liked keeping them on their toes. The ones who got to see the warm and loving side of the almighty mayor were her son, her girlfriend and Emma's brother. Like Regina said, the next generations were much better than the original.  
So Thanksgiving dinner was spent in Snow and David's apartment, with Regina brining dessert of course. It was pleasant to have the whole family together with the addition of Ruby and Granny enjoying the holiday with no worry. There was only one worry - Neal not wanting to let Regina leave when it was time to say good night; the little guy really connected with the one he call 'auntie Gina'. When the boy did calm down and let his father put him to bed, Regina, Henry and Emma left for the manor with a couple of leftover boxes. The couple wasn't living together yet, not officially, however Emma spent most nights in Regina's bed and a lot of her belongings there. It just happened naturally, especially with Henry around making them feel like a family.

That's why it was obvious Emma was spending Christams with her son and her girlfriend. They were going to meet with her parents at the dinner, but that was later in the day. The previous night, the three cuddled up in the living room with hot cocoa and apple pie and watched Christmas movies until it was Henry's bed time. Emma and Regina cleaned the dishes or rather Regina did them and Emma whispered in her ear about how they were going to celebrate in bed. It was difficult for Regina not to drop the mugs she was washing, especially with the shivers going through her body with the image Emma painted of what they were going to do once she's done, but she succeeded.

When the couple was done showing each other how much they appreciated the other's beauty and their love was physically well expressed for the night, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and nuzzled her neck.

Regina put her hands over Emma's and moved a little backwards to snuggle more into the blonde. "Are you excited for tomorrow morning?" she asked in a voice that always made Emma's insides feel warm.

"So excited!" Emma answered and lazily ran her fingers over Regina's stomach. "It's the first year we can actually relax and enjoy this time of year." she continued. "We got the best decorated tree in all of Storybrooke and the kid is going to love what we got him."

Regina laughed and shook her head. "We have the best decorated tree because you used magic to make it so snow will fall on it and the small reindeer's legs to move."

"I'm allowed to use my magic, I was born with it," Emma argued and gave Regina's shoulder a gentle bite. "Besides, I never said I was going to play fair in winning the best tree," she said and shrugged.

Regina turned her head to the blonde and looked at her for several seconds before her smiling. "You're so childish sometimes, I can't believe I fell for you."

"I have a young spirit," Emma repeated how her girlfriend described her once, causing said girlfriend to roll her eyes and look away. "And you love me just the way I am." She grinned.

"I love you, dear, despite some things," Regina's voice was serious, but she was joking.

"Oh, rude!"

"Do I need to be punished?" Regina asked and bit her lip to hide her wicked smile.

Emma placed a soft kiss below Regina's ear, "Just let me catch my breath."

"Maybe if you eat less greasy food, your body would need less time to recover..." Regina said and laced her fingers with Emma's.

"I think after a three orgasms, everyone would be a bit out of breath," Emma said sporting a cocky grin. "And don't hate on my food, you always steal some of my fries and I got you into pizza."

Regina looked over her shoulder with her brow perfectly raised. "I eat pizza once every two weeks and unlike you, I order healthy toppings."

"You mean boring toppings," Emma said with a playful smile.

"Careful, Swan, or you'd find yourself being in the living room earlier than expected." Regina carefully warned. "I intend on living for a while, now that we're not fighting anything-"

"-and you have me." Emma's smile widened and she placed a kiss on Regina's lips when she saw the small smile and a hint of blush cover the woman's cheeks.

Regina turned back around and pulled the blanket over them some more, then covered Emma's hands with hers. "You kept to our agreement, right? Handmade and no magic?" she asked, starting to slowly fall asleep. Emma only nodded against Regina's neck and closed her eyes.

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The hours of the night quickly went by and soon enough Emma woke up to the great smell of pancakes. She was stretching when the bedroom opened and her teenage son peaked into the room. He told her that breakfast was ready and to get up already because he wanted get to unwrapping of the present stage. Emma said she was just about to go wash up, though her son was skeptic and used the sass he got from his other mother, causing Emma to throw one of the pillows at the door and just miss him. Henry, of course, told Regina about it and grinned when his mother got one of those talks from his other mother; the kid enjoyed them being a couple a little too much, the blonde thought. Aside from that, breakfast was great and how could it be any different? The small family was together, having a fantastic meal cooked only Regina could make. There was small talk and a quick check with Emma's parents regarding when to meet up later. When they were done and the kitchen and dinning table areas were clean, it was finally presents time. The mothers sat on the couch side by side and watched Henry opening his first. They could've done it all at the same time, but they wanted to watch and savor the happiness that they knew was about the be written all over Henry's face. That's how it was; with every gift, Henry's smile widened. He got some comic books and a couple of video games that came out recently and he really wanted, a few new clothes and action figures to add to his collection.

Regina and Emma were sure Henry would run off immediately to enjoy his new stuff, but he wanted to stay and see what they got for each other. Like with magic, neither women could use Henry's help; not in the coming up with ideas stage nor the execution stage. The young man was simply too creative.

"Alright, I will start first," Regina stated as she got up and walked to get her present from under the tree. Emma used the time to pulled her legs up on the couch and turned to face to where Regina was going to sit. Henry was on the armchair near them, not quite believing that was his reality. Regina went back to the couch and handed her girlfriend the wrapped medium box. "Go ahead, dear," the former queen said and only those who truly knew could see she was nervous under the regal facade.

Emma wasted no time and tore the wrapping paper off, earning an eye roll from her girlfriend and a giggle from her son. There was a basket made out of wood with Emma's initials stitched into it. Inside the basket were handmade mint bath salts and lavender soap. Emma reached for the soap and brought it close to her nose; the smell alone calmed her body. "Regina, this is amazing!" Emma exclaim and smiled brightly at the woman in front of her. "I know you're good at crafting, but this is more than I expected."

Regina tucked some hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you like it, Emma."

"It's going to be great after long shifts-"

"-or dinner with your parents." Regina smiled playfully and caused the other two to laugh.

Emma leaned forward and place a couple of chaste kisses on Regina's lips. "Thank you," she said when she pulled back and when Regina nodded, Emma stood up. "Alright, now mine." she walked to the tree and quickly got back to the couch with her present for Regina. She handed it to Regina and pulled her legs up to hug them with her long arms.

Carefully and slowly, Regina unwrapped her handmade present. She was excited to see what Emma came up with. Regina could see it was some sort of a clothing item, but couldn't make out exactly what kind. She pulled it from the wrapping paper to see a sweatshirt that was the dictionary definition of an ugly Christmas sweatshirt. Regina tilted her head in an attempt to figure what was the pattern on it.

"It's a swan with a crown; it's you and me, it's us! How cool is it?" Emma said over excitedly, obviously very proud of herself.

Ok, maybe if Regina tried very hard she could make it out. She threw a quick glance at Henry, who looked a bit confused but said nothing. "I d-didn't know you knew how to sew." Regina looked at the sweatshirt in her hands, then at the blonde.

"Mom taught me," Emma said. "She wanted us to bond over other things other than fighting villains and she always had sweets that just got out of the oven." the second half of the explanation made things clearer.

So maybe the final product wasn't perfect, but if she wanted perfect they'd just bought each other gifts instead of creating them themselves. Regina thought of the time Emma put into sewing the sweatshirt and although it's cheesy, it's also creative and adorable; the last part she'd only admit to Emma in a quiet whisper. Emma's gift was personal and Regina loved the sentiment behind it; it was even better than her gift, if she looked at it like that. The anticipation in Emma's eyes mixed with nervousness and hope melted the former queen's heart. She didn't care how the sweatshirt looked, it was from Emma and that what mattered.

"Thank you, Emma." Regina cupped the blonde's face and leaned closer. "I love you," she whispered against her lips and closed the distance. The kiss lasted a few moments before the couple broke apart.

"Cool! You can wear it when we go to meet my parents at the dinner." Emma was hyper; Christmas with Regina and Henry along with a couple mugs of coffee can do that to you. "I'm going to jump into the shower," she stood up and looked at Henry. "We can play some games before we leave," she told him and left.

Alright, maybe Regina did care a little about how the sweatshirt looked. She couldn't say she won't wear it and see Emma's puppy eyes and break her heart. But that meant she'd have to wear it to the dinner, where the citizens of her town gather and worse than that - she'd have to eat lunch with the Charmings wearing it. Regina sighted; she just had to fall in love with the product of epic true love.

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'till next time.

P.S - the sweatshirt is not the original one, it's the version of Emma's incompetence in sewing department. I wanted to make sure it's clear.


End file.
